Revenge
by Celonhael
Summary: Enemies come looking for revenge; Kagome and InuYasha battle for their lives.
1. Chapter 1

Thunder rumbled in the distance.  
The day was overcast and dark. It looked for all the world like it was going to pour. People inside their small houses were lighting candles so they could see. A wind blew up, kicking up dust and dirt, flinging it against faces, clothing, and huts. Most people went about their day's work with faces turned down, eyes screwed shut.  
No rain came, though. It remained as dry as ever.  
The four friends were seated inside the hut, sitting around a campfire. They didn't need it for warmth, although the day was oddly cool. It was for light.  
Miroku was playing with Kirara, dangling a leaf on a long stem above the kitten's head. Kirara would crouch, waggle her butt, and make a leap, swiping at the leaf.  
Sango lay back against the wall of the hut, resting. She watched Miroku and Kirara play, softly laughing.  
InuYasha sat across the fire from them. He was oiling up Tetsusaiga with the sword kit Kagome had bought him months back. The sword already normally had a lovely gleam, but the hanyou was rightfully proud of it, and did his best to make sure it was in top form.  
Kagome sat next to him, with her face shoved into a book.  
Mentally, she sighed.  
_I'm never going to pass this year. No way. Uh-uh. I've been gone way too long. My teachers probably think I've dropped out altogether. And my friends back home. I have no idea what Grandpa is telling them now. He's probably telling them I have a rare form of curable rabies or something._  
She tried to focus on the line of numbers in front of her, to no avail.  
_Well, I guess I can't be too hard on myself. I mean, it's not like I've been skipping off and going to mall. I've been doing something very important. And I can always go back and re-take my classes when this is over..._  
Kagome mentally winced. Re-taking grades. Ug.  
"Put the book down, already."  
Blinking, Kagome lowered her book, peering over the edge, to see InuYasha watching her.  
"Huh?"  
"You sigh any harder, you'll blow the pages out of it. Put it down already."  
"I can't, I need to study."  
The hanyou watched her, that exasperated look on his face, "If studying makes you sigh like that, forget about it."  
Glumly, Kagome put the book on the floor, "I've told you before, InuYasha. Several times. School is important in my world. Without an education, I can't get a job. No job means no money, no place to live, nothing."  
He turned back to his blade, scowling. He hated it when she talked like that. Like she was planning on leaving here someday and never coming back. Always preparing for her future over there.  
"Hasn't DarkWind been gone a while?" Sango asked, making InuYasha scowl all the harder.  
Kagome nodded, but spoke, "It's ok. He said he might be gone for a day or so. I told him to take a week, if he needed it. He's always here when I need it, he deserves a little vacation now and then."  
Miroku wiggled the leaf at Kirara, "I wonder what his lands look like? We all saw what his original world looked like when Izumi showed us that time."  
"He told me once, " Kagome said, "That there were so many different worlds out there. Just...worlds and worlds and worlds. He likened it to what Izumi said that time. That it was like we were living in a huge building, with thousands of floors, and each floor had hundreds of rooms. More than you can imagine."  
"It makes me think of those buildings we saw in your world that time, Kagome," Sango said, "I had never seen such buildings before."  
Kagome smiled, thinking of the skyscrapers in her city. Halloween had been a crazy time for her friends to discover they could cross the time gap into her world.  
"Yes, like that. And he can cross into most of them on his own. There are only a few, like this one, where he has to be bonded to someone before he can enter.  
Apparently, when he left his home, the Spire, he went to another one and set up a place of his own to live."  
Kagome bent her knees, drawing them up to her chest, resting her chin in one hand, staring into the fire, "He's told me he's had so many adventures. I told him he had to tell me some day."  
"They would be interesting," Miroku agreed.  
They fell silent again for a while, then Sango spoke, "It's so dark out."  
Miroku turned to her, "Are you cold?"  
Sango smiled. Miroku was being so very attentive to her, "I'm fine, Miroku. Just wondering why it's so dark."  
Kagome looked up to the window, "It looks like it does when it's going to pour, but still no rain."  
"At least, " Sango said, "It's cool."  
Finishing polishing, InuYasha lifted the sword, peering at it, looking for any mars. His face was reflected back to him, eyes bright in the low light.  
Kagome smiled, "Perfection."  
InuYasha grinned at her, before slipping the sword back into it's sheath. He started packing up the sword kit, blinking when Kagome stood up.  
"Where are you going?"  
"Our water's a bit's low, and we can use some more redfern for our firstaid kits."  
"I'll come with you!" he slapped down the lid of the kit, jumping to his feet. InuYasha grabbed up the large water bucket before Kagome could get it, and followed her out the door.  
"That was quick," Miroku murmured, and Sango laughed.

They walked along the path towards the river. They had had rain a while back - not a lot, but enough to reduce stress on some of the rivers. Instead of using the village's well, Kagome and her friends got water from the fast moving river a short distance away. They wanted to use as little of the village's water supply as possible.  
InuYasha walked besides Kagome, eyes on the path.  
For the last four nights, his dreams had been haunted with the face of a little hanyou child. Small heart-shaped face, pert nose. Golden eyes. Silver hair.  
GinSachi.  
Kagome's daughter.  
_Their_ daughter.  
InuYasha knew it wasn't real. Knew it had been something Mikado had shown him, to make him understand why it was so important for Kagome to learn to use the Shikon. Because some day...he might be gone. And she would need to be able to protect herself.  
And others.  
But GinSachi's face was always in his head now. Her small, bright voice.  
_"Daddy?!"_  
InuYasha tightened his grip on the rope handle of the bucket.  
Kagome spoke.  
"I'm glad you came with me."  
Blinking, he turned, looking at her. Eyes a little wide, he regarded her hopefully, "You are?"  
Kagome nodded, "I'm trying to get Miroku and Sango alone as much as I can."  
Deflated, InuYasha looked back to the path, muttering silently.  
"I think something happened the other night," Kagome said as they walked, "Something good, I mean. Have you noticed that he's always around her now? Like...constantly."  
"Well, he's glad she's back," InuYasha shrugged, "Makes sense to me."  
"I don't know," Kagome shook her head, "She was really upset Miroku's put aside the robes of a Monk. I think some things may have been said that will do them both some good."  
"He hasn't put them back on, though," InuYasha pointed out.  
Kagome sighed, "True. But we can still hope."  
They walked in silence, until Kagome stopped, "Aha."  
She pulled a hankerchief from her pocket, unfolding it, and walked to a small bunch of reddish brown plants growing at the base of a tree. Crouching, she reached down, grasping each at the base where it emerged from the ground, and began twisting each off, laying them out on the hankerchief.  
"What're those for?" he asked, walking over.  
"Bad stomaches," Kagome said, twisting off another, "Tea made with this settles a stomach. I try to keep some around for Shippou."  
"If he didn't eat so much all the time, he wouldn't have bad stomaches," InuYasha observed.  
Kagome smiled up at him, "Be nice, he's a growing child. He needs a lot of food, even if he _does_ tend to try to eat more than his body can hold."  
After twisting off as many as she could carry, she re-folded the hankerchief around the plants, and carefully tucked them into her pocket.  
They started on the path again.  
"Hey...Kagome?"  
"Hmm?"  
"Have you ever through about being a healer here?"  
Kagome blinked at him, "What?"  
"I mean, you've already learned a lot from Kaede. If you went back to her as her apprentice, you could learn everything she knows. You could become a healer here, in this time."  
"I...could, yeah," Kagome slowly agreed, "What brought this on?"  
He shrugged, tried to look nonchalant, "You wouldn't have to worry about studying all the time, then. From those huge books. Worrying about passing tests, and getting a job and a place to live and stuff."  
Kagome smiled, "Well, I could, but I still need to finish school back home and get a job."  
He looked at her now, "Why? You can do all that here."  
"It's..." she stopped for a minute, trying to explain, "Well...because that's my world back there, I guess. I want to be able to do what's right in both places."  
InuYasha said nothing, just kept walking.  
Kagome said nothing more for a while, then she spoke, "InuYasha...?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Would you like to live in that village? The one we're staying at?"  
He looked at her, "Huh?"  
"Would you like to live there? When all this is over, I mean."  
He frowned, "What do you mean, live there?"  
"Well...I mean, eventually you have to settle down somewhere, right? I mean, you're not going to wander around all your life."  
She suddenly blinked, looking at him, a worried look on her face, "Are you?"  
InuYasha felt uneasy, "I don't know. Maybe."  
Kagome looked at him, a dismal look in her eyes, and she looked back to the path, "Oh."  
"Why did you ask that?" he asked her, eyes intent on her face. Something was up.  
"I just...thought you would want to have a house some day and settle down and stuff."  
InuYasha shrugged uneasily, "I never really thought about it."  
His mind went swiftly to the trap he and Miroku had been caught in, long ago. A trap a kindly old man had set, to make sure his remains, and a powerful gem he guarded, would never be disturbed. A trap that had him live out the old man's life, to experience it. In that trap, he had had a house, had grown up as a hanyou child in an orphanage. He had known love though another orphan, grown up. His own memories had put Kagome's face to that woman, her voice. In a way, he had lived a long life with Kagome, had children. Had watched them grow.  
"You've never thought about the future?" she asked.  
InuYasha looked at her again, remembering again the child's face. Her voice. Kagome, in her early to mid-twenties. The mother of that child.  
"Not ... really," he lied.  
Kagome spoke, "Well, that village would be a good place, I think. Everyone there likes you. Seems like a good place."  
"Keep all the hanyou in one place, huh?" he grinned.  
Kagome turned to him swiftly, her face dismayed, "No! I didn't mean that!"  
Blinking, InuYasha looked down at her, "I know you didn't, I just..I was joking."  
Kagome watched him for the space of a heartbeat, and looked away. He saw she was upset.  
"I know you didn't mean that, Kagome. It's ok."  
She nodded.  
They walked in silence for a second, then InuYasha spoke again, "It's funny. Within one year, I suddenly have two places to choose to live in if I want. This place, or Sango's village. If you had told me that a few years ago, I..."  
He fell silent.  
He had been pinned to a tree a few years ago.  
InuYasha shook his head. Sometimes, he forgot how much time had passed. It felt like he had been with his friends for years now, not just a little over one year.  
Been with Kagome.  
"Yeah?" she asked, waiting for him to continue.  
InuYasha shook his head again, and she watched him, worriedly.  
Kagome looked back to the path, now able to hear the water of the river.  
InuYasha's face was so expressive. And his moods seemed to jump from one to another within seconds. One minute he'd he about to say something funny, then...a look would cross his face, and he'd be silent.  
_And they say teenage girls are supposed to be moody._  
"Here we are," Kagome said, as they walked out of the bushes to stand beside the river.  
It was lower than normal, one could see the line of dried mud along the bank where it would normally flow, but it was still high enough to be a series of rapids.  
"I'll get the water," he said, and turned.  
Kagome watched, bemused, as he leapt from the riverbank, easily arching out, long silver hair trailing behind him, to land as light as a bird on a partially submerged rock.  
_He always makes it look so easy,_ she thought, smiling, _Like anyone could do it._  
InuYasha crouched, dipping the bucket into the river, letting it fill swiftly.  
When it was full, he jumped again, angling back towards her.  
_And he won't spill a drop_, she thought proudly, watching him. She had forgotten how graceful he looked when he was moving like that. He might be all mouth sometimes, but he had a natural, wild grace around him that popped up from time to time.  
She was suddenly struck by how much she had missed seeing him do that.  
_No!_ she said firmly, _No. Forget it! No way! I'm not getting back into that. You admire him all you want. He...he's good-looking, attractive, _her face flushed in the low light, _strong and...and...powerful. You can look and admire all you want. It's nothing else. Nothing._  
InuYasha landed beside her, and as she predicted, he hadn't lost a single drop.  
InuYasha put the bucket on the ground for a second - the harsh rope of the bucket handle was graying and a sharp little piece was poking him - when he met her eyes, and paused.  
Kagome blinked, looking away, her face red. InuYasha watched her, noticing the color of her face.  
_Why is she blushing? Did I do something?_ He mentally checked himself over, going over everything he had just done, but couldn't find any reason for her to blush.  
"Are you alright?" he asked.  
"I'm fine," she said quickly, "Let's go back."  
"Yeah, ok, I-"  
From the corner of his eye, InuYasha saw something metallic flashing, hurtling towards them.  
InuYasha stepped forward, raising his arm to shield Kagome's face. He felt his claws strike something, knocking it away with a loud _Ting!_ before it ricoched to the side, sinking deep into the ground.  
A sickle.  
Kagome hadn't seen anything, but had seen InuYasha move, had heard the impact of claw on blade. She flinched slightly, turning when he lowered his arm.  
"What..where did that...?"  
Suddenly, she felt InuYasha move towards her, and grasp her by the upper arms, tightly. Blinking, she looked up at him, to see him looking away, up towards their right, a hard look on his face, eyes hard.  
Kagome turned.  
There, hovering about 10 feet off the ground, were Neith and Xether.


	2. Chapter 2

Kagome stood there, staring wide eyed at Neith and Xether. So much had happened lately, she had almost forgotten about the Shadelings altogether.  
"Well well well," Neith said, his black eyes cold as they bored into her, "It's the happy lovers. Or maybe not to happy anymore, hmm?"  
Kagome opened her mouth to say something, but InuYasha cut her off as he moved forward. He stepped in front of Kagome, right arm out, as if trying to hide her behind the long sleeve of his haori.  
"I _thought_ I smelled a stench, but I thought it was just dead fish," his voice was cool, mocking, and Kagome knew if she could see him, he'd probably have that familiar grin on his face.  
He was obviously spoiling for a fight.  
_Be careful, InuYasha, don't get cocky. I know you can use your Solar Flare now, but there are two of them._  
"Very foolish of you to come this far out, away from your friends," Neith said. The black star over one eye seemed darker in the low light, almost as if it were glowing with it's own power.  
"I don't need help gutting you," InuYasha retorted, "I can do it all on my own."  
Grasping the hilt, InuYasha pulled his sword free of the scabbard.  
The familiar sound of the Tetsusaiga flaring to life resonated across the clearing. InuYasha held it out, one handed, pointing it at the two Shadelings.  
"Did anyone ever tell you people who carry huge swords are usually over-compensating for a lack somewhere else?" Neith grinned.  
_"Shut up!"_  
Kagome watched Xether closely. The woman wasn't saying anything, just glaring daggers at the hanyou. Not chiming in with the taunting, the woman hovered there, both her hands clenched tightly.  
_She's remembering Xanter,_ Kagome thought, _And she wants revenge on InuYasha._  
Kagome, still half-hidden by the red haori's sleeve, leaned forward and spoke softly, "Be careful, InuYasha."  
An ear flicked. Not turning, he spoke back to her, equally low, "There's two of them. I don't like this."  
"Me either."  
"They're going to try and divide us," he said, never taking his eyes off them, "We need to find a place I can defend you in."  
Anger burned in Kagome, anger and humiliation. Once again, her presence was just a hinderance to InuYasha. She knew her skill with the sword wasn't good enough to take on a Shadeling. _InuYasha_ couldn't take one on until he had gotten the Solar Flare from Izumi.  
"I'm sorry."  
"Shut up," he said, but his voice was gentle.  
"Do you really think we can't see her back there?" Neith called out, "Put your arm down, InuYasha."  
InuYasha didn't move. He didn't like Neith even _looking_ at Kagome. Neith's attention was not healthy for anyone, "Your fight is with me, Neith," he called up, "Remember?"  
Kagome reached out, and putting her hands on InuYasha's arm, pushed it down. InuYasha blinked at her, but Kagome kept her eyes on Neith and Xether.  
"There she is!" Neith called out cheerfully, "Our little Kagome! How are you doing, little one? Had any more interesting mental breakdowns lately?"  
InuYasha swung his face out, anger in his eyes, _"You shut up!"_  
"I know I'm not crazy," Kagome called up to Neith, "but I have to hand it to you, you did a good job of getting me to believe it for a while."  
InuYasha lowered his head a little, eyes flicking towards her. His voice was uneasy, "Kagome."  
She spoke again, "But it was just some second rate parlour trick after all."  
"Parlour trick?" Neith grinned, "It was good enough to have you nearly kill yourself in despair, wasn't it? I could-"  
_"Shut your mouth!"_ InuYasha roared, fangs flashing.  
Kagome raised a hand, laid it gently on his back. She could feel him trembling with fury. She spoke gently, "Don't let him goad you into anger. It's not bothering me."  
_"It's bothering me,_" he hissed.  
Neith had almost had Kagome kill herself. When InuYasha had found her, she had been seconds away from plunging a dagger into her own throat, just to escape life in an evil mental asylum. She had possibly started doubting InuYasha was even real...doubting that he was coming to save her. The rage that surged inside him when he thought of it made him want to just attack something, forgo the Tetsusaiga and use his claws and fangs, just rip and rend and tear.  
"So," Neith said, lowering himself a little, "how shall we do this? Here? Back at the village?"  
"Just kill him!" Xether suddenly screeched, "Stop talking to him, and kill him for me!"  
Neith looked back at Xether, and Kagome and InuYasha suddenly saw worry cross the Shadeling's face, "I will, love, I will."  
_Love?!_ InuYasha suddenly thought, _Are Neith and Xether together?  
There goes my lunch._  
"What's the matter?" InuYasha called up to her, "Don't like me anymore?"  
"You killed my brother, you bastard!" Xether screamed, "And for that I'm going to make you scream in agony before I kill you!"  
Kagome spoke, almost a whisper, "InuYasha, _be careful, please._"  
"Oh please," InuYasha taunted her, "I doubt you could do any more than just piss me off. Neith is the one I want. He and I have a score to settle."  
Xether's face twisted in fury, "I'll tear your heart in two, you bastard! I'll skin her alive and make you _watch!"_ Xether screamed, slashing outward with her hand. A long, black crescent came flashing out towards them.  
Kagome heard InuYasha curse. In one fluid motion, he turned, scooping Kagome up, and lunging into the forest.

Kagome was silent as InuYasha ran, plunging into the forest. She was angry with the Shadelings, and angry at herself. There was nothing she could do to help InuYasha here, nothing at all. Arrows were useless, her sword was useless.  
Even DarkWind here couldn't help, as the Kageri was back on another plane, visiting lands he had. Kagome had discovered that since their bond was broken, when DarkWind went to another plane, she couldn't contact him at all. There was no link there any more. She hadn't told the Kageri, as she knew he would start refusing to leave her side, and she didn't want that. DarkWind was entitled to a vacation the same as anyone else.  
Besides...she knew InuYasha would still be there for her.  
Only now...  
They hadn't expected the Shadelings to attack together. They usually worked alone, with the exception of the Twins. Once Xanter had been killed, they had let their guard down.  
Now they were paying for it.  
Kagome watched his face as they ran. His eyes were scanning the edges of the forest, looking for some sort of defensible place he could stop. If he could keep Kagome out of their hands, the fight would be a lot easier.  
Kagome peered back, around InuYasha, saw both Xether and Neith moving hot on their trail, and gaining on them.  
She had just been about to tell him to just put her down and turn, face them, so he wouldn't be attacked from behind, when InuYasha suddenly made a sharp turn, lunging from the path, deeper into the forest.  
They moved into a clearing, one end abutted up against the stone wall of a cliff. Thick, heavy brush ran along there back to the path.  
It wasn't a great place, but better than nothing. It would be hard for anyone to come up behind them without a least making one hell of a racket.  
InuYasha put Kagome on her feet, casting a quick glance over his shoulder, watching as Neith and Xether moved into the clearing.  
He looked back to her, eyes wide with the seriousness of the situation.  
_"Stay behind me_", he said, "got it? If you see anything, tell me, don't face it on your own, not against them."  
Kagome swallowed, and nodded, "Got it. Be careful."  
InuYasha cast one more look at her, as if trying to reassure himself she was safe here, before turning back to face the Shadelings, Tetsusaiga drawn.  
Kagome stood halfway between the cliff face and InuYasha. She wanted to be close enough to him for safety, but not so close she got in his way. She watched as Xether hung back, letting Neith come forward.  
"Well, InuYasha," Neith grinned. His long dark blue hair moved easily as he walked, his strange orange eyes intent on the hanyou. His somewhat regal bearing was marred by the savage grin on his face.  
"Looks like we finally get to finish what we started, so long ago."  
"We'll start it," InuYasha growled, "but I'll finish it!"  
With a laugh, Neith dove forward.  
Kagome, hands curled into useless fists, watched the battle before her.  
InuYasha snarled, and lunged, bringing the Tetsusaiga up overhead, swinging it in a great overhead arc.  
Neith pulled a sword as well, a long black blade. It was thicker than a normal sword blade, but not nearly as thick as Tetsusaiga.  
With a resounding clash, the two blades met, sparks flashing outward. Neith and InuYasha set their feet, each pushing against the other in a struggle of strength. Noses almost touching, Neith grinned at InuYasha, the hanyou's teeth bared in anger. Their faces were reflected in the Tetsusaiga's face.  
"You've gotten stronger, InuYasha!" Neith laughed, "You're almost my equal in strength now!"  
"I aint your equal, I'm better than you!" InuYasha snarled, shoving back hard. Neith was forced to dance back a step. Seeing his chance, InuYasha lunged, swinging Tetsusaiga in a massive arc.  
Neith lunged backwards, just avoiding the edge of the demon blade. There was a huge grin on his face. He was enjoying himself.  
InuYasha swung again, driving the Shadeling back another step.  
Neith retreated backwards, just out of the hanyou's range.  
InuYasha was forced to stop, to back up several steps. He couldn't go too far ahead without leaving a gap open that would let Neith slip past him.  
"Come on, InuYasha," Neith taunted, "What are you waiting for?"  
"Ah shut up," InuYasha called back, "Like I'm interested in chasing you all over the forest. You wanna fight, then why don't you come over here and get to it?"  
Kagome watched, body trembling with nerves. If only she had her bow and arrows. She might be able to use her Spiritual Arrow against Neith. Something to make it easier...  
As Neith came darting in again, Kagome watched InuYasha set his feet, taking up a familiar stance.  
_Do it!_ she thought, _Take him out!_  
InuYasha raised the Tetsusaiga over his head, bringing it crashing down. Instead of his usual attack, this time he reached directly for the Solar Flare.  
_"Solar Flare!"_  
Tetsusaiga bit deep into the earth.  
The WindScar came ripping outward, instantly replaced by the Solar Flare. The yellow ribbons of the Wind Scar flared up into red and white flames, flashing and roaring.  
Neith cursed, the grin gone from his face, and dove to the side. The Solar Flare blasted past him, almost knocking him off his feet, a hot blast of heat and fire.  
It rocketed out, seeming to engulf everything in it's path. For a second there was only fire, but it quickly died back, revealing a landscape untouched by fire. As Izumi had promised, the Solar Flare only harmed those who had allied themselves with Keimetsu. Plants, animals, even innocent people would be untouched.  
InuYasha grinned savagely. For the first time, the Solar Flare had been _right there_, within reach, like his Wind Scar. No more doubt. No more guessing. The blade had taken and accepted the blessing from the Sun Goddess, had learned it.  
_Thank you, Tetsusaiga._  
Begrudgingly, he also thanked Amaterasu, in case she were listening.  
Neith had backed up, out of range.  
InuYasha wanted to whoop. The taunting look on the Shadeling's face was gone. He was looking at InuYasha warily now.  
Now, finally, InuYasha was a threat.  
The grin suddenly re-emerged on the Shadeling's face, and he lifted off his feet, sliding backwards. InuYasha warily tightened his grip.  
"Well done, InuYasha. First point to you. But our battle is by no means over yet."  
He faded back out of sight.  
InuYasha's ears flicked, listening. He expected a sudden rush from any side, and he tensed, waiting.  
"Get ready, Kagome," he said, "They're planning something."  
Silence.  
"Kagome? I said get-" he looked over his shoulder.  
She was gone.  
Blinking, InuYasha turned, staring into the empty clearing, "_Kagome?!"_  
Silence. Emptiness.  
_What...how..._  
That grin.  
_"Neith! Get back here! Don't you touch her!"_

Kagome struggled, cursing in her head. She had no idea how Xether had managed to get up behind her so silently. She had been watching InuYasha fight, worried he would open himself up to an attack, and was pleased to see he was being careful.  
_He's holding back because I'm here_, she thought, angry, _He can't really get into it with Neith because he knows he needs to protect me.  
Well...maybe that's a good thing. A little caution is alway-_  
A hand had clamped over her mouth, hard, another grabbing her arm, wrenching her backwards. Kagome's hands flew up to the arm of the hand on her mouth, to try and yank it away, but her arm was twisted hard, and she was thrown off balance. She staggered backwards, and found herself being picked up and almost _thrown_ over the brush, into another small clearing.  
Her attacker was still on her, and she struggled, kicking out, writhing, but whoever had her was strong, and it was like fighting a tree.  
Another hard shove, and she flew several feet forward, landing roughly on her hands and knees with a grunt.  
Not even looking around, Kagome gathered herself, pushing to her feet, planning on taking off as fast as she could. She needed to get back to InuYasha, there was no way she could fight them on her own.  
Kagome had only taken one step when a foot struck her ankle, tripping her. With an angry cry, she fell again.  
Once again she struggled, pushing off with her feet, staggering to her feet. One, two, three steps, and she slammed into Neith.  
A vice-like grip clasped onto her arm, and she felt herself spun in place, thrown off balance. She was being pushed and pulled around like a sack of rice, kept off-balance.  
Her arms were viciously yanked behind her, a strong arm slipped behind her back, in front of her elbows, pinning them in place, and she felt herself lifted off her feet as Neith rose into the air.

Desperate, InuYasha left the clearing behind, darting back out onto the path, letting his nose guide him.  
_"Bastard! Where are you?!"_  
Several steps, and he broke into a second clearing, sliding to a stop, horrified.  
Neith hovered about 8 or 9 feet off the ground, Xether beside him, her sword drawn.  
Kagome stood before Neith, as if standing on some invisible platform. Her arms were twisted behind her, held in place by one of Neith's arms linked around in front of her elbows, pinning them. His right hand was twisted in her hair, tight, holding her head up, face out. Blood dribbled from her knees.  
_"Let her go!"_  
"There you are, InuYasha," Neith smiled, "I was starting to wonder if you were going to notice she was gone at all, or just stand there."  
"I said let her go!"  
Neith yanked hard on Kagome's hair, jerking her head back. Kagome made a quiet noise of pain, but refused to cry out.  
Neith smiled, "Now now, manners."  
InuYasha grasped the hilt of the Tetsusaiga, preparing for the Solar Flare. He would be able to take out Neith and Xether, leaving Kagome unhurt. Izumi's blessing would ensure she was safe.  
He started to call in the power of the Solar Flare.  
Xether grinned, and lifted the sword, placing the edge against Kagome's throat, "I wouldn't."  
Blinking, InuYasha stepped back a step.  
Xether smiled, "Go for your Flare, InuYasha, and I'll slit her throat ear to ear before it reaches us."  
Cursing, InuYasha loosened his grip, feeling the Solar Flare fade out around him. He wouldn't be fast enough.  
Neith spoke, "Good dog."  
"I'm the one you want, come for me!" InuYasha snarled, "I killed Xanter!"  
"I know," Xether hissed, "And for that you'll pay."  
Kagome looked down at InuYasha, gritting her teeth. Her insides churned with anger. They were just using her to hurt him. She knew how he felt about her. Knew he still loved her, so much. Knew he would hold himself responsible for her safety, for any pain forced on her.  
"So how shall we do this?" Xether grinned, her eyes flashing nastily in the low light of the day, "Should we cut her fingers off, one by one? Slice off her nose?"  
"First off," Neith said, "We pull the dog's teeth. InuYasha! Throw away Tetsusaiga!"  
Grinding his teeth in fury, his grip tightened on the blade for a second, as if longing to throw Tetsusaiga at Neith. He took Tetsusaiga in his left hand, angling his arm out a little, to toss it to the side.  
Kagome grunted as Neith yanked again on her hair, hard, "Come on, now, InuYasha. You're a hanyou! Use those arms! Nice and far."  
InuYasha hissed a breath. Right hand in a fist, he angled out his left arm, and threw Tetsusaiga. The blade went flashing out to his left. It whipped into the forest, sinking deep into the trunk of a tree. It quivered there a second. Then, with a sigh-like sound, it shifted back to it's old, beaten form.  
"Good."  
InuYasha felt his claws digging into his palms, he was clenching his fists so tight, "Now let her go!"  
"Do you remember," Neith asked him, as if nothing were happening between them as if they were old friends, "When I first had you? I had you convinced your friends had abandoned you. Left you alone. I offered you power, power beyond anything you could imagine. And you turned me down."  
"You're damn right I did!" InuYasha yelled back.  
"Just before your friends found you, before they saved your skin, do you remember what you were doing?"  
InuYasha glared up at Neith, eyes flashing from Neith's face to Kagome's.  
Her eyes were closed, squeezed shut. Neith's fist was full of her black hair, twisted cruelly tight.  
He knew what she was doing. She didn't want to see him. She knew she was being used to hurt him, and it was killing her. She couldn't meet his gaze.  
_I just want you out of here,_ he thought.  
"Don't you remember, InuYasha?" Neith asked again, his voice cruelly amused, "No? Then I shall remind you.  
You were bowing to me.  
Let's see that again, shall we?  
_On your knees._"  
InuYasha shivered with fury, raising his fists, "Just come down here and fight me, you coward bastard! Man to man, one on one! We'll settle this once and for all!"  
"Neith gave you an order," Xether said, and moving her sword, she put the tip to Kagome's upper arm.  
Before anyone could say anything, Xether slid the blade forward, sliding the very tip into Kagome's upper arm.  
Kagome's back arced, fists whitening. Her jaw clamped, locking back any sound. Her breathing became faster and louder, though, and she shuddered, making a weak, mewling sound. Her arm went cold, then hot, and she felt something liquid slip down her arm, running down towards her elbow, dripping.  
_"Stop it!"_  
_"I said on your knees!"_  
InuYasha cursed. Shuddering in helpless fury, literally snarling in rage, he sank to his knees. His eyes were riveted on Kagome's face.  
Xether continued to slowly, cruelly, slide the tip of the blade into the woman's arm, using a slow motion to draw out the agony.  
Kagome's eyes were screwed shut, her face pale. She was shuddering so hard it was almost hard for Neith to hold her. Pain-filled whimpers escaped her lips, but she would not scream. Tears welled up, spilling over her cheeks.  
_"Let her GO!"_ InuYasha screamed.  
Neith looked at Xether, "That's enough for now."  
Xether looked at him, anger on her face.  
"That's enough for now, Xether," Neith said firmly, "We want to make this last, don't we?"  
Xether's lips twisted in anger, but she moved, yanking the blade out of Kagome's arm.  
Kagome sagged slightly, taking deep breaths, chest rising and falling as she gasped.  
Head drooping forward, she opened her eyes, looking through he bangs at him. At first he was just a smear of red and silver against a brownish smear, through her tear-filled eyes. A blink or two brought it all into focus.  
He knelt on the ground before and below her, arms half lifted, as if he didn't know what to do with them. From here, she thought she could see him tremble.  
His gold eyes were wide, riveted on her face, "Kagome."  
Neith's hand grabbed up a handful of hair again, jerking her head back and up, calling down to the hanyou.  
"Let's see that silver hair on the ground, InuYasha! Forhead in the dirt! Come on, _bow to me_!"  
_"You stinking piece of-"_  
Neith yanked again, hard, and Kagome grunted in pain. Her arm throbbed, and her side felt hot and wet. How deeply had Xether stabbed her? Xether's sword came up again, resting across her throat.  
_InuYasha won't bow to you bastards,_ she thought savagely.  
Panting in rage, InuYasha shivered. He wanted to bite and claw and rip and tear. Utter hatred raged through him.  
Placing his hands on the ground in front of him, a muscle jumping in his jaw, he lowered his head, closing his eyes in rage and humilitation, shuddering, moving slowly forward until he felt his forhead rest against the ground.  
Kagome heard Neith called out in joy, "Well done, Dog!"  
Her eyes opened.  
On the ground in front of her, InuYasha knelt, bowing as deep as he could go, long silver hair draped forward, resting in the dust and dirt of the ground.  
_No!_  
Pain left, fear left, replaced by a coldness.  
_You don't bow to them!_  
_"InuYasha, get up!" _she screamed, _"Don't you dare bow to them!"_  
"Don't be so stupid," Xether laughed, "He has no choice!"  
InuYasha ground his teeth together, claws sinking into the dirt, _I'll kill you,_ he thought, _When I get her back, I'll kill you with my bare hands._  
He heard Kagome suddenly cry out, in pain. His eyes flared open.  
A pulse moved through him.  
_No! I __**can't**__!_  
Neith laughed.  
Another pulse.  
_Not now! I'll kill her too!_  
He fought it. Fought it back as best he could. But his anger was too strong. The sound of Kagome's pain, the harsh laughter of Neith, swamped him, over whelming him.  
His eyes darkened, turning red.

Kagome grunted as Neith yanked her hair again, hard. Her arm was burning like fire, her muscles starting to ache from being forced into such an unnatural position. Opening her eyes again, she looked down at InuYasha. He was still bowed, forhead on the ground. The sight of his beautiful silver hair lying in the dirt caused anger to swell inside her, anger and fury.  
Under her shirt, the Shikon suddenly gave a single chime, a soft _ding!_.  
Kagome blinked.  
_The Shikon? It rang._  
Behind her, Neith laughed again, twisting a handful of her hair, wrenching back her arms painfully.  
Gritting her teeth, Kagome watched the hanyou below.  
_I'm sorry, InuYasha. I promised you I wouldn't use it unnecessarily.  
But this is necessary._  
Kagome closed her eyes, and reached inside for the Shikon


	3. Chapter 3

InuYasha struggled, trying to force back the demon that threatened to overwhelm him. Why was he changing now? He wasn't under attack, not physically.  
Was it...Kagome? Was he changing because she was threatened?  
_I need...Tetsusaiga..._  
Another pulse rang through him, and he faltered, swallowed up by the beast inside.

Kagome sank down inside herself, reaching for the Shikon. The power was there, just within her reach. In mer mind, she could see the small stone, glowing with a pale blue light. Ribbons of power seemed to float around it, issuing bith out of, and back into it. They seemed to flow and ripple. If Kagome could see through InuYasha's eyes, it would look similar to what he saw when he saw the Wind Scar forming around his target. Only these bands were a pale blue.  
Mentally, spiritually, she reached out, hooking one of the ribbons with her fingers, pulling the stone back to her.  
Spiritually, she clasped it within her hands.  
And opened her eyes.

Neith and Xether stood on their platform of air, looking down at InuYasha. Neith was grinning, enjoying himself. The pain he knew he was causing InuYasha by hurting Kagome was sweet, and he was enjoying himself greatly. He gazed at Xether, smiling, but the woman wasn't looking back at him. Her eyes were focused on the hanyou, fierce and savage. She was enjoying this more than Neith, thinking about how InuYasha had taken her brother from her.  
Two things suddenly happened at once.  
InuYasha lifted his head, looking up at Neith, and the Shadeling suddenly saw the hanyou's face had changed. The golden eyes were red, and strange markings had appeared on his face. InuYasha grinned, and Neith could see his fangs had somehow grown, longer and sharper.  
With a snarl, the hanyou sprang to his feet, and lunged straight up into the air, aiming for Neith, claws out.  
The second thing was that Kagome suddenly seemed to burst into a blue light, intese and blinding. Neith and Xether cursed. Neith tightened his grip on Kagome - if InuYasha sliced her to bits while coming for him, what matter? - but then he was suddenly blown backwards, as if he had been hit by a tree.  
Agony raced over his body, and he slammed into the ground, sliding along, tearing up grass and leaves, leaving a gouge in the ground.  
When he came to a stop, he opened his eyes, looking around, rolling swiftly to his feet.  
Kagome stood to the side, and she was on fire.  
A strange, light blue flame seemed to encompass her, burning in place, yet the woman didn't seem to feel it. It made no sound, and she didn't even seem to know it was there.  
Xether landed roughly, and with a savage curse, she launched herself at Kagome.  
"Xether!" he called a warning, but suddenly, he came under attack himself.  
InuYasha seemed to come from no where, lunging at him, claws out, aiming for his face. Neith jumped backwards, putting some distance between them. He pulled his sword, a long, black blade that seemed to ripple like water.  
"So, this is what happens when you change, huh?" Neith grinned, holding out the blade, "I'm impressed. You finally look like you could give a real challenge."  
With a savage snarl, InuYasha lunged.  
Claws rang off the black blade, and a hissing sound went up when InuYasha's fingertips grazed the sword. A smell like singed flesh filled the air, and Neith chuckled.  
But InuYasha didn't pause, didn't stop. He lunged again and again, savagely swinging, clawing, snarling all the while.  
Neith blinked as he parried the attack time and again, each time his black blade burning the hands of InuYasha each time he came into contact with it.  
"Strong, but stupid, I see." Neith chuckled.

Xether watched Kagome, the blue light reflecting in her dark eyes. She held out a sickle, warily.  
"So. This is the powerful Shikon I've heard so much about. I'm not impressed so far."  
Kagome's emotions had all fled. She seemed calm, peaceful. As she watched Xether, she knew she should be feeling _something_, but it was like all her emotions had fled. Or been burned away.  
She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.  
"You've done too much harm," she heard herself say, "And I can't let you do any more."  
Kagome wasn't even sure if she was speaking...or someone else. Deep inside the Shikon, she could feel the presence of Midoriko hovering. So far, the few times Kagome had met the Priestess, Midoriko had seemed very serious, and concerned that Kagome wasn't strong enough to handle what she had to give her. Yet she had never been cruel.  
"Oh really?" Xether laughed, "Like you can stop me!?"  
Gathering herself, Xether launched herself at Kagome, angling downwards and rushing at her at top speed.  
Kagome raised the blue flame around herself, pulling it up around her like a shield. She started to reach for her sword, but she stopped.  
_If I can't use the Shikon entirely, to protect myself, to fight, what's the use of learning to use it?_ she thought calmly, and relaxed her hand.  
Xether screamed, and struck at Kagome.  
Her sickle seemed to bounce off the flame as if it were made of stone.  
Screaming a curse, Xether struck and struck again, her eyes burning into Kagome's.  
Kagome watched her dispassionately, in much the same way an adult might watch a child throwing a tantrum. Kagome simply shielded herself, knowing that soon Xether would tire, would run down.

_What a fool!_ Neith thought, _He's killing himself __**for**__ me!_  
InuYasha moved in again, swinging.  
Neith raised his sword, blocking the blow, striking InuYasha hard on the forearm.  
Blood spurted, but InuYasha didn't even blink. Forced backwards, he was moving forward before he had even come to a stop, swinging again and again.  
His body and arm were struck here and there with the black blade, blood running. The smell of burned flesh hung in the air, areas of InuYasha's body and face that hadn't just been wounded, but burned.  
And still he came.

Kagome tightened her grip on the Shikon, and now she pushed outward with it, throwing one of the spiritual ribbons out towards Xether.  
The blue flame roared up, swinging outward, and struck Xether hard, knocking the Shadeling backward, to sprawl on the ground, her sickle flying from her hand.  
Kagome walked several steps towards her.  
Xether looked up at Kagome, slowly starting to get to her feet, "You _bitch_. It's _your_ fault he's dead. He fell in love with you, and you _threw it in his face!_ You let that half-breed kill him!"  
"I didn't ask for his love," Kagome said calmly, "And he knew near the end I didn't love him. But he insisted on trying to kill InuYasha. That is why he died."  
"You never deserved his love! Never! I told him to forget about you, but he couldn't! You were all he could think about! Turning you into one of us!"  
Kagome said nothing.  
"I'll have my revenge on you! I'll kill you myself, for him!"  
"If you attack me," Kagome said, feeling oddly numb, "You will die. You know this as well as I do. You have one choice. Here, and now."  
Xether blinked at Kagome, unable to understand what she was seeing. Why wasn't this woman afraid of her? Where was the screaming little coward she had seen last?  
Anger flared up in her. No matter, she would die.  
"Die!" Xether screamed, and lunged at Kagome again.  
Kagome calmly, moved her hand out towards Xether, as if she were tossing her a toy or ball, bringing her arm around in a gentle arc.  
Blue fire swept from her hand, lashing outward, and enveloped Xether.  
The woman Shadeling staggered, doubling over, and letting out an ear-splitting scream of agony. Blue fire raced up over her, engulfing her entirely, setting her aflame.  
Xether screamed again, staggering, falling to her knees.  
Kagome took a step back, and suddenly staggered as well. Exhaustion swelled up inside her, grabbing at her arms and legs. She felt heavy and weak, as if invisible chains were fixed to her limbs, and were hauling her downward.  
The blue flame surrounding her sputtered, and died.  
Xether, however, was not so lucky.  
She continued to burn with blue fire. Still screaming, she tottered, falling over onto her face, a burning flare.  
Emotions came racing back to Kagome, and she scrabbled backwards from the burning woman, horror on her face.  
Xether's screams had died off, and she just lay there, burning.  
"_Xether!"_

With a chuckle, Neith threw InuYasha backwards for the umpteenth time, watching, amused, as the hanyou went flying backward. The minute he came to a stop, InuYasha was up again, charging.  
He was covered in blood, his face, neck and body marked and scored over and over with cuts and burns.  
And still he came on.  
"It's like playing ball," Neith laughed, "Only instead of a dog bringing back the ball, the dog _is_ the ball."  
He swung his sword, and InuYasha was thrown backward again. Neith shook his head, and was about to speak, when suddenly a piercing scream of agony swept through the clearing.  
Neith turned, to see Xether staggering backward, covered in some sort of blue flame, flailing, crying out in agony.  
Shocked, horrified, Neith turned, and lunged towards her, _"Xether!"_

Kagome turned, watching as Neith came barrelling towards her and Xether. Wincing in pain and exhaustion, she pushed herself up off the ground, staggering to her feet. She had to get to InuYasha, and get out of there. Right now it was their only chance.  
Kagome blinked, and gasped, when she saw InuYasha get to his feet, and come lunging after Neith.  
It looked like his entire body was cut and injured...and his demon form had come out, taking hold.  
_Oh no oh no not now!_  
InuYasha snarled, jumping.  
"Uh...uh...uh..._Sit!_"  
InuYasha went crashing to the ground.  
Wincing, Kagome staggered towards the prone hanyou.  
She tripped as she approached, crawling the last few feet to him, "InuYasha? InuYasha! Please, get up!"  
He was stirring already, groaning. She saw him lift his head, looking at her, a dazed look on his face.  
"You have to get up," Kagome panted, "I'm sorry, I know you're tired and hurt but Neith is still over there and I think he's going to be really angry in a minute, so you have to get up, please, please-"  
Grunting in pain, InuYasha planted his hands on the ground, levering himself up. He looked her over, worriedly, his gaze then shifting to look over her shoulder.  
He cursed, and forced himself to his feet.  
Every inch of him hurt, and Kagome looked terrible as well. He knew that right now he was in no mood to take on Neith. They had to get away, fast.  
_What the hell happened? I felt the demon rising up inside me, and..._  
Kagome pointed towards his sword, "The Tetsusaiga is over there. That's where it-"  
She blinked, as he grabbed her, picking her up in his arms, and turning. He ran to where the Tetsusaiga was still embedded in the tree in it's old, sad state. Kagome reached out and grabbed the sword for him, and he turned again, lunging into the forest.  
Behind him, he suddenly heard Neith scream his name, and then Kagome's.  
Eyes darting here and there, searching for some place to rest up, to hide, InuYasha looked grim, "Are you ok?"  
"I'll be ok," she said, her voice weak and frail.  
"What happened back there?! I don't remember.."  
"I killed Xether."  
InuYasha blinked at her, shocked, _"You what?!"_  
He almost stumbled, and she grabbed onto him for support, "I killed her."  
"How!?"  
"With the Shikon."  
Now InuYasha looked outright shocked, and his eyes kept flicking from the path to her face and back again, "You what? How? How did-."  
A break occured in the brush, and Kagome's eyes fell on the entrance to a cave.  
"There!" she pointed, "A cave! We can get in there."  
Sliding, InuYasha changed direction, and dashed through the sparse brush, lunging into the cave.  
He stood there, panting, trying to catch his breath, ears flicking back and forth as he tried to listen both to any sound of pursuit and evidence of a resident already in the cave.  
After a few seconds of silence, he let out a deep breath, and gently put Kagome down on her feet.  
Her legs trembling, Kagome put her hand out to steady herself against the cave wall, and slowly sat to a sitting position, resting back up against the wall.  
She closed her eyes, shivering. She was so tired, it almost took concentration to think.  
She suddenly felt his hands on her, and she opened her eyes to see him untying her shirt.  
Kagome knew him well enough to know InuYasha wasn't trying anything here, in a cave, with a murderous Shadeling possibly tracking them. She was wearing a small tank under her shirt, and was too tired to care about any other reason he might have. She watched him, almost detached, as he pulled her shirt down over her wounded arm, looking at the deep slice.  
He hissed, and cursed. The run had opened it again, and it was starting to bleed.  
Kagome looked into his face, saw his face, his eyes.  
The hanyou looked frantic as he turned her arm over, then quickly moved to her neck, and shoulder. He moved swiftly to her other arm, turning it over, running his eyes up and down her form, looking for blood, for wounds.  
"I'm ok," she croaked.  
"The hell you are," he snarled, and she saw the frantic look was quickly being replaced by a furious one, "You're hurt!"  
"It's just a cut," she tried to smile, and failed. She was so tired.  
"They hurt you because of _me_," he grated, pulling her shirt down over her back, slipping it off her. He wadded it up, and pressed it to her wound. She gave a soft cry when he put pressure on it, and he swallowed, almost choking in rage, "This is my fault."  
Kagome watched him, tirely, "You have to stop blaming yourself, InuYasha. You can't blame yourself because these psychos are trying to get revenge on you because you stopped them from killing you. Do you have any idea how stupid that sounds?"  
"You don-"  
She started to mimic him, "I should have just let them kill me, that way there would be no chance they'd decide to get revenge on my friends." "  
He looked at her, feeling angry, and lost.  
Kagome saw it, and relented, "Stop beating yourself up. They're our enemy, InuYasha, that's why they attacked. If you had turned them away by giving them _flowers_, they would have attacked."  
He looked away from her face, back to her arm. He carefully removed the wadded up shirt, and cursed when it saw it was still bleeding.  
Resting her head against the wall of the cave, she watched him. His face was a work of emotions; anger, fear, frusteration, worry. And cut, and burned in places.  
She spoke, her voice almost a croak, "You're hurt too. Your poor face."  
He said nothing, and she could see a muscle jumping in his jaw. He was practically vibrating with frantic anger.  
Kagome reached out with her other hand, to touch him, and was shocked to see him raise his own hand, swiftly, as if to bat hers away.  
He caught himself, almost jumping, and made a fist, turning his eyes back to her wound, "I'm sorry."  
Kagome nodded, not speaking. The fight-or-flight response was still rampaging inside him, adrenelin rampaging through his body. Gently, she raised her hand again, moving towards his face a little slower.  
She lightly touched his cheekbone, where a wound was already showing signs of healing, "Are you in any pain?"  
"I'm fine," he said, cutting off his words. He peeled back the now bloody shirt again, and nodded, removing it entirely from her arm.  
He tried to wipe the blood from her arm off with the shirt, but it was too bloody itself, and he gave up in disgust, tossing it farther back into the cave. He stood, walking to the entrance of the cave, looking out. Kagome could see his hands were in fists, one of his feet literally tapping as he searched outside for sight or scent.  
After a second, he must have felt they were still safe, because he turned and walked back, sitting beside her, his back against the wall as well.  
Kagome wearily watched as he picked up the Tetsusaiga, sliding it back into the sheath. He rested his arms on his thighs, flexing his hands once. Face tilted downwards, eyes on his feet, he spoke.  
"Ok...let's have it. What...what did I do?"  
Kagome blinked tiredly at him, "What?"  
He didn't look at her, didn't meet her gaze, his voice hard, "What did I do, Kagome? I became that...that thing again. What did I do?"  
Kagome stretched her legs out before her, "You didn't do a whole lot. I mean, bad. You turned into a demon, and attacked Neith. You weren-"  
"Did I come after you?"  
"Inu-"  
He lifted his head, looking at her, eyes intense, demanding, _"Did I come after you, Kagome?"_  
She quickly shook her head, "No. Only Neith."  
He watched her closely, scanning her face, her eyes, looking for any sign she was lying, even to try and spare his feelings.  
She calmly gazed back, letting the truth reflect on her face.  
He seemed to relax a small bit, the tension in his body fading out a little, "Don't lie to me. Please. I need to know if I ever threaten you."  
Kagome nodded, "I know. I'm not lying. You went after Neith only."  
He studied her face in silence for another second or two, then turned his head back. He lifted his head, resting the back of his head against the cave wall, and let out a long breath of relief.  
Kagome's eyes went to the cave entrance. The clouds were starting to be blown away, as a wind sprang up. It was one of those winds that was faster higher in the air than on the ground, and the clouds high above began to go scudding across the sky. The moon was bright that night, and the moving clouds made the moonlight seem to appear and dissapear, alternating dark and light patches outside the cave entrance. The trees moved in the wind, raising a soft, sighing sound as their leaves danced.  
The effect seemed to hypnotise Kagome, and she watched it, silent.  
Her reverie was broken when InuYasha's haori settled down around her. Blinking, she turned, looking at him.  
He was watching her worriedly, "You're shivering."  
"It's kind of cold in here."  
"Then put that on."  
"I'll get blood on it."  
"It washes out."  
Silently, Kagome pulled his haori on, sliding her hands into the huge sleeves, pulling it closed around her. There was so much room, it was like wrapping up in a blanket.  
A warm blanket.  
She could feel his body heat on it, and pulled it closer. He always seemed warmer than her. She idly wondered if it was because he was hanyou. Did they naturally have higher body temperatures?  
"You said you used the Shikon." his voice interrupted her.  
Kagome blinked, looking up at him again, and nodded, waiting for his anger, "Yeah, I did."  
He studied her quietly, then spoke, "Are you ok? I mean...inside?"  
"I think so. I mean...I don't _feel_ any different, other than being so tired."  
"Why did you do it? It was dangerous."  
She was surprised to hear there was no anger in his voice, but there was a tone of worry, of intense unhappiness. Like he finally knew it was pointless to argue with her over it.  
"I had to."  
"What do you mean?"  
The wind gusted outside.  
"Well, you were...preoccupied."  
A look came over his face, and he turned, gazing out the cave entrance. When he spoke, there was anger and hate in his voice, "Preoccupied. That's one way to put it."  
She fell silent, wanting to tell him to stop, that he couldn't help what happened...but it was stupid to say what she knew he already knew. He couldn't have stopped it.  
That's what upset him.  
She continued speaking, "I think Neith might have killed you. You were so hurt, and you just kept coming..."  
He said nothing.  
"InuYasha," she said softly, "I told you a while back that I would use it to protect those I care about. And I did. And I'm ok."  
"Yeah."  
Silence.  
"InuYasha. Look at me."  
He turned his head, gazing at her.  
She tried to smile, but was so tired, "Look. I know you're upset. But something good came out of this."  
"Good? Like what?"  
"Well...we know now I know how to use the Shikon if I have to. Even if just for a little bit."  
He watched her, and sighed, "Yeah, I guess you're right."  
Kagome put her head back against the wall of the cave, and closed her eyes.  
She'd just rest a minute.  
Within seconds, she was asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

She slowly surfaced from sleep as if she were swimming up from a deep ocean. It was warm, this ocean, and comfortable. Part of her really didn't want to surface, but a bigger part of her knew she had to, so she rose.  
But she went slowly.  
She started remembering what had happened. A fight. With Neith and Xether. Reaching for the Shikon.  
It was like she was watching a movie, images flashing before her. She wasn't upset or frightened, but watched it all simply.  
InuYasha, kneeling on the ground, helpless and furious. His long silver hair trailing in the dirt.  
She opened her eyes slowly.  
Outside the cave, the wind blew stronger. The leaves in the trees rustled and danced, sounding like rainfall. Moonlight would almost flare, casting dark shadows amongst the trees, before a cloud would slide over it's face, throwing everything into darkness.  
It was oddly beautiful.  
InuYasha's scent lay all around her.  
She closed her eyes for a moment, breathing deeply. His haori was tucked around her, resting against her nose and mouth. Everytime she breathed in, she got that fall apple scent that she always associated with him, and his own, personal scent.  
She realized how calming it was to her. How content it made her.  
Outside, the moonlight flared up again, dazzling.  
She was still tired, but warm, and so very comfortable.  
Slowly, she woke more, senses starting to sharpen. After a minute or two, she became away of just why InuYasha's scent seemed wrapped around her.  
She was seated on his lap.  
His haori draped over her, she was seated upon his lap, leaning against him, the right side of her body against him, her head resting against his left shoulder. From where she sat, she could feel his left arm curled around behind her, hand resting lightly against her left hip. His other arm was resting atop the haori, arm resting across her thighs, hand dangling over the edge.  
Kagome remained still, surprised she wasn't panicking. As she lay there, she realized she could feel him breathing, soft, slow, steady breaths, and could hear his heart beating. He seemed relaxed, and she guessed he was probably asleep. His wounds had been worse than he had thought.  
Kagome watched as the moonlight came and went outside the cave, listened to the wind sighing high in the sky, hissing amongst the leaves. She realized she could almost see her breath in the cave, but was so warm where she sat.  
Kagome felt so comfortable, so safe, so _content, so right_, and she thought to herself, _I've missed this. I've missed this so much._  
She felt her eyes prickle as tears threatened.  
_I don't __**want**__ to love him anymore. I'll just get hurt, over and over and over. He can't help himself. He loves Kikyo too much. I accept that. But I can't be walked on anymore, and InuYasha can't help but walk on me when she's around. I asked him to change, and he tried. He really did. But he can't.  
Please...please, don't let me be falling back in love with him. I don't __**want**__ to._  
She felt him shift slightly, and she pulled an arm out from under the haori, quickly wiping at the traitorous tears that were starting to form.  
His voice was quiet, and hesitant, "Kagome?"  
She sat up a little, holding the haori to her, looking up at him, not surprised to see he was looking down at her, alert, a concerned look on his face. He wasn't even blushing, was too concerned about her, "Are you alright?"  
"Yeah," she said very quietly, not moving, "You?"  
"Me?"  
"Your wounds."  
"Practically healed," he said simply. She studied his face, and saw with approval the cuts, the burns on his face were already looking like they were several days old, not new. In another few hours, they would look a week old.  
By tonight, they would look months healed.  
She spoke quietly, "Why..."  
"You were shivering," he said, "It's gotten colder in here. Even with my haori, you were shivering. I just thought...you know...with your arm, and being so tired and everything...it was a great way to get sick."  
"I've probably bled on you, though."  
He said nothing.  
InuYasha watched her, and loosened his arms a little, waiting for her to rise, to pull away, to stand up, and he was startled to feel her sit back down again.  
And shocked when she leaned against him again, resting her head against his chest.  
Carefully, he slid his arms back around her, gazing down at the top of her head. In the low light, her hair looked like pure ink, poured over her, slipping down her back, resting against his arm.  
"Why are you always warm?" she asked quietly.  
InuYasha blinked, feeling his face blush slightly, "Huh?"  
She didn't move, but spoke gently, "You always feel warm. Are hanyou naturally warmer than humans?"  
"I...I don't know," he said lamely, not sure what to say.  
They were quiet for a bit. Kagome watched the moonlight, InuYasha watched Kagome. Her scent was soft and warm to his nose, calming.  
When he had first come into the cave with her, his mind had been on one thing; that he had turned demon again. He was sure that she must have been hurt, somehow, and he was frantic to search her, find some injury that proved he had attacked her.  
Finding her unharmed, by _him_ at least, was a strong relief.  
Since that first time he had turned into a demon, back in that village, where that demon had been killing those women, and both him and Miroku had been trapped in the demon moth's ball of silk...he had turned full demon several times. And since then, he realized he had come to rely on Kagome when it happened. Because...as bad as it got, Kagome's "Sit" command always brought him back. And she knew as long as he had his Tetsusaiga in hand, he was safe.  
He knew she would look out to him.  
Keep him from turning. With her around, he was afford a rare luxury of not having to worry about it, because she would keep an eye on it for him. He knew that if the worst came to the very worst, and he turned...Kagome would keep him from killing anyone. Keep him from just...rampaging.  
She would make sure he stayed _normal_.  
So why did he turn today?  
He closed his eyes, thinking about the attack. Certainly, hearing Kagome making those horrible soft, pain-filled sounds had gouged into him. Every time Neith had yanked back her hair, twisting his fist, he had wanted to lash out, to cut off the offending hand. And when Xether had stabbed her...  
_Was that what happened, then? Her pain hurt me so damn much that I changed?_  
He mentally cursed. Something else to worry about?  
And Kagome had used the Shikon.  
He wasn't sure what to say, or do. He hated the thought of it. The last time she used it, it had done something to her. Kaede likened it to literally pulling a muscle in her _head_. She had gone back as if to an infant, unable to walk, unable to talk. And although within hours, and days, she regained everything she had, her memory had been affected. She couldn't remember him at _all_.  
It had been another day before everything had come back to her.  
Now, the second time she had been forced to use it, and he had been unable to be there for her, to help her.  
He mentally cursed.  
_But...at least she seems ok. She's exhausted, but ok. So..that's a good sign, I guess._  
"InuYasha?"  
"Yeah?"  
"What about Neith? Hasn't he come in after us? He must know we're here somewhere."  
InuYasha looked out through the cavern entrance, "I've gotten his scent a few times while you were sleeping. He's definately looking for us. He knows we're _somewhere_ nearby, but can't locate us."  
"The Shikon is shielding us."  
He blinked, looking down at her.  
"I can feel it," she said quietly, "It's put some sort of barrier at the cavern entrance. We're hidden in here."  
"Maybe that's why it got so cold," he said, "It's keeping the cold cave air in here too."  
"Maybe."  
"How long do you think...?"  
"I don't know," she said quietly, "Because I don't think _I'm _doing it myself."  
"What?"  
"The Shikon senses I'm exhausted. I think it's trying to hide me from Neith, so I can rest, get my strength back."  
InuYasha fell silent, but inwardly nodded. Good.  
They remained together a little while longer. Kagome was still tired, but no longer so tired it was hard to think. She started thinking she should move, should stand up. She was afraid the longer she stayed there, the more InuYasha may take it wrong.  
Even if she _was_ starting to have...stronger...feelings for him, she refused to let herself act on them. Show them. It would just lead to her pain again. She would not admit it.  
Not to him.  
Not aloud to herself.  
But it was _hard_ trying to get up. She was so warm. So comfortable. And she felt so...safe and secure in his arms.  
She shifted, and felt his arms tighten slightly, in protest. Kagome was just about to say something, when a voice echoed outside the cave.  
_"InuYasha! Kagome!_ I know you're here, you worm-crawling bastards! Come out and face me! I'll peel your flesh from your bones!"  
Kagome heard InuYasha curse, glaring towards the door, "Guess he's finally started homing in."  
She looked at him, worriedly, "Are you rested enough to fight him?"  
InuYasha nodded, "I'm ok."  
Kagome stood up, feeling the cold air in the cave swirl around her, as she followed him towards the cave entrance. She watched InuYasha check to made sure Tetsusaiga was at his hip, before he turned to the cave entrance.  
"Wait," she called, and he looked back, to see her running towards him, haori out.  
InuYasha shook his head, "Put it back on."  
Kagome blinked, "What? No. You need this, it's like...your armor. You're only wearing your gi."  
He turned to her, "My haori's powers are against fire. Neith doesn't have fire as an attack, I won't need it."  
"I don't need it either!" she protested.  
He spoke softly, "It's still cold in here. Put it back on."  
She felt lost, and a little angry. He was going into battle, why couldn't he stop thinking about her? So what if she got cold?! He might need it to stop a blade or something!  
"The worst that'll happen is I get a cold," she protested, holding it out to him.  
"I...I'd rather you wear it, ok?" he spoke, "I'll feel better, knowing you're wearing it."  
Kagome faltered a little, lowering the haori.  
_Why do you have to be so..so..stupid!?_ she mentally raged at him, _You're going into battle! I'm not! Are you honestly saying you'll be distracted by the thought I might be __**cold**__?_  
But she said nothing, and silently slipped it back on.  
InuYasha watched her quietly. The haori was volumnous on him; it almost swallowed Kagome whole. The one time she had worn it because she had nothing else, she had managed to shorten it by tying it up, ending up with a rather silly-looking bow on her butt. But now she just stood there, his haori hanging on her, like a child playing dress-up. The ends almost came down to her knees, the sleeves hanging past her hands.  
She suddenly seemed to look so _tiny_, he had an overwhelming desire to walk over to her, and kiss her forehead.  
He looked back out into the forest, then back to her.  
"You stay in here, you hear me? No matter what you hear, _you stay in here_."  
Kagome blinked, suddenly afraid, "What do you mean?"  
"The SolarFlare is there for me to use now, but I don't know how this fight will go. Not yet. I'll fight better if I know you can't be touched in here. So promise me you'll stay inside."  
Kagome watched him, dark eyes worried, but she nodded. She had been a hinderance enough tonight. This was serious. Despite wanting to help him, she knew she couldn't, and her presence would just distract him from doing what he did best; fight.  
"I promise. I'll stay in here.  
But I know you'll kill him, InuYasha.  
I know you will."  
InuYasha paused, and smiled at her, and she was suddenly very glad she said it. He needed a confidence boost now, badly, and just knowing she believed in him meant a lot.  
"Of course I will," he suddenly grinned, that grin that she loved so much, and then he turned, and lunged outside, and was gone.  
"I know you will," she said again, almost a whisper, trying to convince herself.

InuYasha lunged out of the cave, moving at top speed. If Neith truly didn't know where they had been, the shorter amount of time he was near the cave entrance, the less likely Neith would realize Kagome was still in there.  
He ran along the ground, skimming the dry grass, eyes and ears alert for attack.  
It wasn't long in coming.  
Even above the wind, his ears heard the whirring sound, and he looked over his shoulder to see a long black crescent sweeping down towards him.  
He cursed, and jumped to the side, angling upwards. Behind him the crescent sank deep into the ground before exploding upwards, rocks, dirt and debris bursting outwards.  
InuYasha landed, spinning in place, feet sliding backwards on the ground, facing Neith.  
The Shadeling hovered about 10 feet off the ground, his face a mask of rage and hatered. The long black blade in his hand shimmered with a deadly glow.  
"_Oh you bastard,"_ Neith panted, _"How I will make you and your bitch suffer."_  
"Don't count on it," InuYasha yelled upwards, raising Tetsusaiga, "You were lucky the first time. That ain't happenin' again!"  
"You could have had _everything_!" Neith suddenly screamed, "Power, fear from the lesser people! You could have been so far above them, you fool! You could have been like a God among men! I offered it to you, _it was in the palm of your hand!_"  
"All you offered me was the chance to become a monster!" InuYasha hollared back, "I saw what you offered me, and I didn't want it! Yeah I had power! I had armies, I had money and soldiers and everyone respected me and feared me! But what the Hell good was that, _when I killed my friends!?_ All that's hollow if I had to be alone!"  
Neith ground his teeth in fury.  
InuYasha continued, "But you could never see that, could you!? All you saw was power! I kinda feel sorry for you, you know that? You have power, and you have fear and respect, but you never had friends, did you!?"  
"I would have been your friend, you fool!"  
InuYasha blinked, stepping backward. He tightened his hand on the hilt of Tetsusaiga.  
"We are the same, InuYasha!" Neith screamed down at him, wild in his anger, "We are both half-breeds! You are half demon! I am half Shadeling! I was willing to accept you because I knew what a half-breed could do! I saw you for what you could have become!"  
InuYasha half shook his head, uneasy. Neith had basically wanted to include InuYasha, make him one of them, not just because he saw what InuYasha could have become, but because he was _lonely?!_  
"We would have been as _brothers!_" Neith yelled, "I would have supported you and fought by your side! We would have been unstoppable, and you threw it away for _them?!"_  
InuYasha snorted, "If you had told me all this _before_ you kidnapped them and tortured them, I might have been able to understand you. But you went too far, Neith! You hurt them all! Kagome, Miroku, Sango...even _Shippo!_" InuYasha's fangs flashed in the low light, _"You made Shippo think I was going to kill him, and he was willing to let me do it so he wouldn't be alone! You're nothing but a sick bastard!"_  
Neith spoke, startling InuYasha with the sudden change of topic, "Where is Kagome?"  
"Never you mind where Kagome is. She's somewhere you can't find her. Now shut up and attack me!"  
Neith lifted his head, calling out to the forest, _"Kagome! Get out here!"_  
"Get down here and fight me!"  
_"Come out, Kagome, or I'll split InuYasha straight down the middle! I'll carve out his heart, and give it to you as a gift, before __**I make you eat it!**_"

Kagome stood just inside the cave, looking out into the forest around her. The clearing before her was small, but when the moonlight came out, it was very easy to see. She watched InuYasha as he stood on the ground, calling up to Neith. Watched as Neith and InuYasha spoke. The wind pulled their words away from her; all she could hear was them yelling at each other.  
Suddenly, Neith's voice rang out to her, over the sound of the wind, _"Come out, Kagome, or I'll split InuYasha straight down the middle! I'll carve out his heart, and give it to you as a gift, before __**I make you eat it!**_"  
She said, and did, nothing, but she was grateful she could see everything where she was. If she had heard that, but hadn't been able to see anything...she wasn't sure she would have been able to stay inside the cave, despite her promise to InuYasha.

InuYasha ear flicked, trying to listen for the sounds of Kagome, fearful she might come out, but unable to look back for fear he'd give away her location. He watched as Neith's eyes scanned the area, searching, and felt himself relax a little. Kagome obviously hadn't emerged.  
_Good._  
Neith looked down at InuYasha again, and grinned, a cold, hard smile.  
"You killed her. You killed my beloved Xether."  
InuYasha said nothing.  
"For the first time, I was happy. Really happy. But you destroyed all that. You tainted it.  
And for that I'll obliterate you!"  
Neith dove towards InuYasha, screaming, face enraged.  
InuYasha lunged to the side, swinging. The Tetsusaiga scored a hit on Neith's face, but it only scratched the skin, hardly made a mark.  
Neith darted backwards, then lunged ahead again, swinging. InuYasha lunged back, feeling the edge of the blade miss his face by mere inches. The air that followed it was frigid, and he knew it would have burned had it made contact.  
InuYasha turned, and darted sideways, trying to put some distance between himself and Neith. If he was going to use the SolarFlare, he needed room.  
But Neith knew that as well, and he continued to press his advantage, always on top of the hanyou, forcing him to defend instead of attack.  
Neith was faster, too, and swinging his black blade in a powerful arc, he managed to score a hit along InuYasha's arm. His white gi parted like paper, blood flowing and darkening the edges of the fabric. He felt it burn with an icy touch, causing his arm to go cold.  
InuYasha kept a tight grip on the Tetsusaiga, though, and he turned, swinging outwards again, weilding the blade one-handed.  
Neith brought up his blade, and the Tetsusaiga struck it with a _clang!_ that ricocheted across the clearing.  
Grinning like a wild beast, Neith pushed back against the Tetsusaiga, forcing InuYasha to take several quick steps backwards to keep his feet.  
Around the clearing in this manner they went, Neith always pressing, moving forward, InuYasha being forced to back up, keep making distance between them, fending off one attack after another. He mentally cursed, desperate to make an opening. While he was holding his own for now, even he couldn't fight like this forever, and his arm was starting to ache.  
Wind gusted through the clearing, and a could passed over the moon. The clearing darkened slightly, and InuYasha, jumping backwards, landed slightly wrong. He stumbled, and Neith was on him.  
He ducked the sweeping blow that would have beheaded him, but Neith reversed his arm, and struck InuYasha in the face with the pommel of his sword.  
Pain exploded across his face, across his sensitive nose, and he fell backwards, staggering. He knew Neith would take this advantage, so he lowered his sword, and leapt away, as far as he could, trying to put distance between them.  
Hot liquid slipped into his eyes, and he cursed, raising a hand to wipe his face. His white gi sleeve came away bloodied, from a split forhead and bloody nose.  
Behind him he could hear Neith chasing after him, swinging his black blade, cackling gleefully as he chased after the hanyou.  
Wiping his face again, he turned, lunging back out with his blade, catching Neith off guard.  
The Tetsusaiga struck him square in the chest, but it didn't cut. Instead it pushed Neith backwards, casting him back to slam into a tree, as if InuYasha had struck him with a club, not a blade.  
Spinning, planting his feet, InuYasha reached for the SolarFlare, and sent it tearing out towards the Shadeling.  
Neith was pushing himself off the tree, grunting in pain. Seeing the SolarFlare ripping towards him, he lunged to the side, his long blue hair rippling as he went, and the sun's fire engulfed the tree.  
InuYasha cursed, and tracked Neith with his eyes, watching. The Shadeling shook off his shock, and came at InuYasha again. The tree that had been struck with the SolarFlare remained standing, untouched.  
"Stand still!" Neith screamed, swinging at InuYasha.  
InuYasha raised the Tetsusaiga again, deflecting another attack. The two swords clashed, and InuYasha planted his feet. Throwing all his weight behind his sword, with an angry hollar, he shoved Neith back, hard, several feet.  
Keeping the Tetsusaiga moving, he followed through with the attack, letting the blade swing out, then back again. he carried the motion up, bringing the Tetsusaiga up over his head, and then down, to sink the blade deep into the eart.  
"_SolarFlare!_"  
The SolarFlare tore outward, ripping into the ground as it came.  
Neith had no time.  
It engulfed him, bowling him backwards, setting fire to him. From within the golden and red flames, an agonized scream tore out for less than a second, then it was silenced.  
The backdraft of the SolarFlare blew against InuYasha, setting his clothing and hair flying about, and he struggled to stay on his feet. His hands tightened on the hilt.  
The SolarFlare roared it's anger for another second or two, before it started to fizzle out. The flames lessened, lessened, then died out.  
InuYasha eased up on his grip, warily watching, looking for Neith.  
The only sign of the Shadeling, was a charred spot on the ground, a small bit of his clothing. The grass and trees remained standing.  
As he watched, the wind took the charred remains, and blew them away, casting them into the air.  
InuYasha watched, then let out his breath in a long sigh.  
It was over.  
Neith was dead.

InuYasha made his way back towards the cave. He felt odd...there were two emotions warring inside him. Elation that the bastard was dead, and a strange, almost empty feel. It felt so odd to know that both Xether and Neith had finally been defeated. He had hated Neith for so long...had hated his guts, had almost fantasized about killing him, and now...now he was well and truly gone.  
"InuYasha!"  
He looked up to see Kagome leave the cave, come running towards him. His red haori flopped and swished around her so comically that he found himself smiling. Like a big red blob, she made her way towards him.  
As she got closer, though, he saw her face. She was pale, and her eyes were wide as she watched him.  
"InuYasha, are you ok?" she ran up to him, searching his face, his body closely. She saw blood on the sleeve of his gi, and dried blood on his face.  
"I'm ok."  
"The blood-"  
"It's stopped. Neith got a lucky hit."  
She ran her eyes over his face, at the wound on his forehead, and winced, "Are you sure you're ok?"  
"I'll be fine," he said, and started to feel his wounds. The few that were still healing ached a little, and his forehead definately stung.  
Kagome studied him, and spoke softly, "He's gone. You killed him."  
InuYasha said nothing, just looked at her.  
She suddenly smiled, "I knew you could do it."  
InuYasha smiled back at her, tired, sore, but proud.  
"Come on, we should get back to the camp. Miroku and Sango must be wondering what on earth happened to us."  
InuYasha looked over his shoulder, back where he had slain Neith, then back to her, and nodded.

They walked along the path. The wind was still strong, tugging their hair, their clothing, but outside the cave it was warm. Kagome looked up at the moon. It was in it's last quarter, waning.  
She spoke before she knew it, "The new moon is coming soon."  
InuYasha cursed as he walked beside her, "I'm starting to think there's two every month now, instead of one."  
Kagome looked at him, smiling gently, "It's not _that_ bad, is it? I mean, we're not running from Naraku any more, and we have a good place to stay. The village is a good place to stay while it happens."  
"Yeah, I guess."  
Kagome looked at him, "How's your face?"  
He grinned at her, "Will you stop asking? It's fine. Once I get the dried blood off, you'll see it's fine."  
"Well, when we get back, you change into your other clothing, and tomorrow I'll wash this and your gi, and mend the tears."  
He fell silent, watching her as they walked, and spoke softly, "You don't have to do that."  
Kagome spoke before she knew she was going to, "I want to."  
Silence. They walked side by side, practically in step.  
He spoke again, soft, "Thank you."  
Kagome just nodded, saying nothing.  
They topped a small hill, looking down into the village. Most of the huts were black as it was late, and people were sleeping. They noticed a single candle burning in the hut they shared, though, as Miroku and Sango were likely waiting for them to return.  
Kagome pulled his haori a little tighter around herself.  
_I have to be careful. My...my feelings..._ she refused to call it love, _are back again, and strong. I have to make sure I don't...do or say anything to give him the wrong idea. That would be really wrong of me, very cruel. Even if I do have feelings for him, I'm not letting myself get too close. I'll just get hurt._  
Beside her, InuYasha walked in silence. He glanced at her, as she walked, watching her, noticing she seemed lost in thought.  
_You let me hold you, Kagome. You stayed in my arms for a while, and didn't try to leave. I remember how good it feels, to just hold you.  
I'm winning you back, aren't I? It's working. The steps have been small, so far, but tonight...you stayed with me.  
I'll win you back yet. You'll see._  
They crested the hill, walked down the small hill, and entered the village below.

END


End file.
